Shout to the Lord

There’s an anecdote about a visitor at church one day. During the sermon he shouted, “Praise the Lord!” After his second “Praise the Lord”, a deacon came up to him and requested that he be quiet. He replied, “But, I’m just praising the Lord.” The deacon stated emphatically, “Well, you can’t do that here!” — Ouch.

Have you ever worshipped where you felt like you were part of a funeral rather than honoring the risen Christ? You tend to leave depressed rather than uplifted.

You have to admire Paul and Silas while imprisoned together. Instead of acting like they were in shackles (which they were), they joined hearts in prayer and praise. “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them” (Acts 16:25). Nobody said, “You can’t do that here”.

I understand there are times during public worship when quiet meditation is in order. Our behavior should always be appropriate for the moment. The question is — are there times for expressions of joy, or are have we become so formal that spontaneous “Amen’s” are frowned upon? Have you ever said, much less shouted, “Praise God”, “Hallelujah”, or “Glory” from a heart bursting with praise? “Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard” (Psalm 66:8).

Psalm 63:4 says, “I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.” Paul wrote the young preacher, Timothy, “I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing” (I Timothy 2:8).

Wouldn’t that put frosting on the cake if you raised your hands in praise or prayer next Sunday morning? Are you able to reach towards heaven asking God to wrap his loving arms around you? I can tell you when I did that without hesitation. Several years ago, while spending one month in the hospital following a stroke, I began having severe heart pains and extremely high blood pressure. The doctors worked feverishly to keep me alive. I asked the doctor to tell my wife and family that I love them. The next day I was in the Cardiac Care Unit alone in my bed with outstretched hands towards heaven. I was thanking God for life. I didn’t have to force my thanksgiving, I didn’t look around to see if someone was watching ~ I simply reached up towards heaven and said “Thank you, Lord.”

Let’s put this in perspective. There are appropriate and inappropriate times for expressions of joy. Praise can be a quiet prayer with the church or in your closet at home. But, it can also be more demonstrative. It can express a joy that cannot be hidden. I’m talking about times when it is appropriate. Ask yourself, “do I ever jubilantly praise God?”

The Psalmist said, “Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy” (Psalm 47:1). Just imagine clapping and shouting with cries of joy to the Lord.

Maybe now I’ve gone too far….